The goal of this project is to test an intervention designed to reduce the incidence and magnitude of the negative effects, specifically stress, anxiety, and depression, frequently experienced by adult children who are caregivers of a parent with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Caring for an elderly parent is a growing societal problem, and many studies have shown that caring for a person with dementia can have a negative impact on a caregiver's psychological and physical health, social life and career, and relationship with the patient. Stress and coping models proposed in the AD caregiving literature, and general stress and coping theories suggest that by improving caregivers' ability to cope and master the caregiving situation, it is possible to avoid or ameliorate the negative emotional consequences of caregiving.

Building upon the results of a pilot study, this study will formally test the efficacy of a psychosocial intervention, based on a concept of caregiving that builds on the interests, activities, and responsibilities of both the caregiver and patient in creating a care strategy. The intervention is designed to reduce the negative effects frequently experienced by adult children who care for a parent in the middle stage of Alzheimer's disease. Caregivers will learn to engage with their parents in activities that are within the patients' remaining functional and cognitive abilities. Caregivers will also be encouraged to teach activities to other family members and paid caregivers. The study will also evaluate a lower level of intervention, based on written materials.

It is expected that by increasing knowledge about AD and providing what may be a new conceptual approach to relating to a parent at this point in the disease process, 1) caregivers and patients may experience a higher level of satisfaction and gratification from their interactions, 2) caregivers will gain a sense of control and mastery over a difficult situation and thus feel more capable of coping and 3) the patient may maintain a higher level of functioning.

A randomized treatment/control design will be used, and adult-child caregivers who participate will be assigned to one of the two levels of intervention, each designed to reduce stress, anxiety and depression. The benefits of each intervention will be evaluated by looking at the change in scores on widely used measures of the anticipated outcomes among caregivers in each group, and their relative benefits will be tested by comparing scores of the caregivers in the two groups at two follow-up points, six and nine months after baseline.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

21 Years to 90 Years

Genders Eligible for Study:

Both

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Men or women between the ages of 21 and 90

Adult-child caring for at least one parent who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and is in the moderate stage

Person with Alzheimer's disease must be living at home or in a congregate residential setting that is like a home

Caregiver must be willing to complete intake and follow-up questionnaires

Caregiver must be willing to attend 2 workshops and 1 individual counseling session

Exclusion Criteria:

Severe psychological or physical illness

Unwillingness to participate in all aspects of the study

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00409279